Asked for his opinion on the British government’s continued attempts to leave the EU for no obvious reason, he said: “It’s a disaster, because the losses that are caused by it will be huge for us. Brexit is the dumbest thing Britain has ever done in my lifetime”.

“For me and for many other Britons, this is an absolute tragedy, because the story is going in the wrong direction”, he added. “It was always important to identify commonalities and to work together. Brexit destroys the work of a generation that has brought Europe together”.

As for the woman ultimately in charge of the whole thing on the UK side, May said he has little time for Prime Minister Theresa May, telling the paper: “She is, like Cameron before her, driven by vanity and thirst for power. It was wrong from the start to ask the British to vote on Brexit, most of whom had no idea [about the consequences]. I’m upset that a few politicians have managed to push us into this ditch. I sincerely hope that we can work it out again”.